Warning: major spoilers for Prime Video’s Holland.

Prime Video’s Holland is a psychological thriller that takes viewers to the тιтle town, but the story’s twists and reveals left some big questions and a couple of plot holes. Directed by Mimi Cave, Holland is set in the small Midwestern town of the same name, located in Michigan, and follows Nancy Vandergroot (Nicole Kidman), a teacher, the wife of optometrist Fred Vandergroot (Matthew Macfayden), and the mother of 13-year-old Harry (Jude Hill). The Vandergroots live a seemingly happy and perfect life until Nancy begins to suspect Fred is cheating on her.

Nancy turns to fellow teacher Dave (Gael García Bernal) for support and help in finding out if Fred really is cheating on her or not. In the process, Nancy and Dave fall for each other, and together, they make a disturbing discovery about Fred that goes way further than cheating on his wife: Fred is a serial killer and has been targeting women in towns around Holland for years, disguising these trips as work-related ones. Holland has a couple more twists after that reveal, but they all leave some big questions about the characters, their futures, and more.

9

What Happened To Nancy Before She Met Fred?

Nancy Mentions Her Past A Couple Of Times

Holland mostly takes place in the тιтle town, with some scenes set in nearby towns as Nancy and Dave follow Fred on his supposed “work trips.” This gives a claustrophobic feel to the story, as if Nancy could never escape the town – and yet, she’s very comfortable living in Holland. At the beginning of Holland and at other points in the movie, Nancy mentions that Fred saved her and brought her to Holland, where she found a home and a community.

Nancy only mentions that she comes from a small town and that’s it, but Holland is also a small town, so in that sense, it’s not exactly an upgrade.

However, it’s never mentioned exactly what was going on with Nancy before meeting Fred that makes her say she was “rescued.” Nancy only mentions that she comes from a small town and that’s it, but Holland is also a small town, so in that sense, it’s not exactly an upgrade. Maybe Nancy had a difficult upbringing and younger years, but Holland never goes into it.

8

What Happened To Candy After Nancy Suspended Her?

Holland Begins With Nancy Confronting Candy

Holland begins with Nancy confronting Candy (Rachel Sennott), Harry’s babysitter. Nancy implies that she caught Candy stealing, to which Candy immediately confesses and says she has a food problem and loves it so much. Candy admits to taking bacon that was supposed to be for Harry and is genuinely sorry for what she did, but that’s not what Nancy is talking about. Nancy finds out that one of her earrings is missing, and she’s sure that Candy stole it, which she denies. Nancy doesn’t believe her, and tells her to not come back until she’s ready to be honest, and that upsets Harry.

Candy isn’t seen again in Holland, and Harry mentions her again when he complains to his mother about how much she has “ruined” his life. Nancy eventually finds the missing earring among the many ʙuттons she keeps, with no idea of how it got there – but Candy doesn’t return, and it’s unknown what happened to her.

7

What Did Dave Do Before Arriving In Holland?

Dave Has A Difficult Past

Nancy and Dave work at the same school and they are friends, so much so that Nancy confides in him her suspicions about Fred’s potential infidelity and convinces him to help her break into his office at night. It’s later revealed that Fred arrived in Holland not long ago, and when he tries to back out from helping Nancy break into Fred’s office, he mentions having a history with the law.

Dave’s past is one of the biggest things Holland simply mentions and never goes into. It’s unknown where Dave lived before moving to Holland, why he moved there, and what his past problems with the law are. While these don’t really affect his story in the movie, they are mentioned, and that’s enough to spark curiosity.

6

How Did Fred Survive His Fight With Dave?

Fred Shouldn’t Have Survived That

When Dave and Nancy come clean about their feelings for each other, Dave panics as he feels it’s wrong due to Nancy being married. Dave distances himself from Nancy for a while until she calls him to say she’s determined to leave Fred. Dave tells her he can get the proof of his infidelity so she won’t feel bad about leaving him. Dave and Nancy end up following Fred to a nearby town as he goes on yet another work trip, but Nancy has to return to Holland to pick Harry up.

Dave continues to follow Fred and catches him murdering a young woman at her home. Fred sees Dave recording him, and they fight. Dave stabs Fred with his own knife and tries to escape on a boat in the lake, but Fred catches up to him and the fight continues.

Days later, Fred shows up at Holland, without explanation on how he survived not just the stabbing but being underwater for so long.

Dave pulls the knife out of Fred’s abdomen and he falls into the lake, with Dave convinced that he drowned. Days later, Fred shows up at Holland, without explanation on how he survived not just the stabbing but being underwater for so long – at least long enough for Dave to get up, get the camera, and leave, and not get caught.

5

What Happened To Dave After Being Injured?

Where Did Dave Go?

Dave gets very paranoid after “killing” Fred and has nightmares about Fred’s survival and the murdered woman’s dogs licking her blood from the floor. Dave is ultimately right as Fred survives and returns to Holland, but before he reveals himself to Nancy, she drives with Harry to a motel for their safety. Dave follows them and tells Nancy they should call the police, but she pushes him to get the phone out of his hands and a TV drops on his head, injuring him.

When Nancy kills Fred, she returns to the motel room, but Dave is gone.

When Nancy calls Harry for help, she finds him with Fred, and for the next few minutes, Holland focuses on Nancy, Fred, and Harry, while Dave lies injured in the motel room. When Nancy kills Fred, she returns to the motel room, but Dave is gone. In the final voiceover at the end of Holland, Dave mentions his feelings of loneliness and being invisible, and how it all changed when he met Nancy, but also questions if it was all real. It’s unknown what happens to Dave after being hit with the TV, but he probably left town.

4

Do Nancy & Harry Leave Holland?

Nancy & Harry’s Future Isn’t Clear

Nancy found safety in Holland when she moved there after meeting Fred and has stayed in town ever since. Nancy became part of the community and never showed interest in leaving. However, knowing what Fred had done, how he used his town model to keep track of the people he had killed, and everything that happened at the motel, it would be enough for her to leave Holland with Harry so they could start fresh. Even the final voiceover has Nancy saying she found a way out, but it’s unclear if she and Harry left.

When Dave tells Nancy that they can finally be together and leave, Nancy panics and uses the upcoming Tulip Festival as an excuse for not leaving Holland, as well as Harry having his whole life there. It’s unlikely, then, that Nancy and Harry left Holland after the movie’s ending, and instead, they just moved on the best way they could.

3

How Will Nancy Explain Fred’s Death?

Fred Was Well-Known In Town

As mentioned above, Fred is a well-known man in Holland thanks to his job as an optometrist. Because of this, explaining or simply justifying his death would be quite tricky, more so if Nancy doesn’t want his crimes to be known. Fred’s death can’t be treated as an accident as he’s sH๏τ and later beaten with a clog to death, though it’s all in self-defense – but then again, given his image of a good family man and if his crimes aren’t exposed, Nancy could face big trouble.

2

Will Fred’s Crimes Ever Be Exposed?

Fred’s Crimes Aren’t Exposed In Holland

On the topic of Fred’s death, the biggest question is whether his crimes will be exposed or not. When Dave tells Nancy that Fred won’t be bothering her anymore and they are now free to be together and move on, Nancy says they will simply ignore what Fred did and hide it, as they always do. It’s quite possible that this continued to be Nancy’s stance on Fred’s dark double life after his death, though, given that his death could be labeled as “suspicious”, if there was a proper investigation, it would all come to light.

This would obviously affect Nancy and Harry, especially as Holland is a small town, and their calm lifestyle would completely change. Holland doesn’t give any hints of what would happen with Fred’s dark secrets after his death, but no matter what, it’s fair to say Nancy and Harry won’t recover from all of it soon.

1

Why Is Holland So Special?

Holland Is Just A Small Town